Epson 3880 ink cartridge problem

Hello all, thanks in advance for any insight you might have to share. The school where I work has an Epson 3880 that does not recognize any cartridge inserted into the Light Magenta slot (I've tried 3 different ones). I believe the sensor was damaged and there's no contact between the chip on the cart and the printer. It's out of warranty with no budget for professional repair. My question: is there any way to use this printer only for black and white printing? Or will it simply never work without recognizing a cart in every slot?